What is an AI Crawler?
AI crawlers are automated bots operated by AI companies — like GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and PerplexityBot — that scan and index web content for training data and real-time retrieval.
Orbilo Team
Definition
AI crawlers are automated web bots operated by AI companies to scan, index, and collect content from websites. Unlike traditional search engine crawlers (Googlebot, Bingbot) that index pages for search results, AI crawlers collect content for two purposes: training AI models and powering real-time retrieval during conversations. The most prominent AI crawlers include GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), and PerplexityBot (Perplexity).
Why AI crawlers matter
AI crawlers determine what content AI platforms can access and reference. If your site blocks AI crawlers, your content cannot be:
- Used in future model training
- Retrieved in real-time when users ask relevant questions
- Cited by platforms like Perplexity that rely on live web searches
Conversely, allowing AI crawlers ensures your brand has the best possible chance of being accurately represented in AI responses. This is a key strategic decision for any AEO strategy.
Major AI crawlers
| Crawler | Operator | Purpose | User-Agent |
|---------|----------|---------|------------|
| GPTBot | OpenAI | Training + retrieval | GPTBot |
| ChatGPT-User | OpenAI | Real-time browsing | ChatGPT-User |
| ClaudeBot | Anthropic | Training | ClaudeBot |
| PerplexityBot | Perplexity | Real-time search | PerplexityBot |
| Google-Extended | Google | Gemini training | Google-Extended |
| Bytespider | ByteDance | Training | Bytespider |
| CCBot | Common Crawl | Open dataset | CCBot |
Should you block AI crawlers?
This depends on your goals:
Allow AI crawlers if:
- You want your brand mentioned in AI responses
- You're pursuing an AEO strategy
- Your content is publicly accessible anyway
Consider blocking if:
- You have premium content behind a paywall
- You have licensing concerns about AI training
- You want to control exactly what AI knows via llms.txt instead
Many brands take a hybrid approach — allowing retrieval bots (ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot) for real-time citation while blocking training bots. See Robots.txt for AI for implementation details.
Related terms
- Robots.txt for AI — Using robots.txt to control AI crawler access
- Training Data — The content corpus AI models learn from
- Content Extractability — How easily AI can parse your content
Tools
- LLMs.txt Generator — Create a machine-readable brand file for AI crawlers
- LLMs-ctx Generator — Provide extended context for AI systems visiting your site